The invention relates to an assembly including a power semiconductor module.
Power semiconductor modules include at least one power semiconductor chip which in module operation dissipates waste heat. For the purpose of their electrical contacting such modules further include low-resistance terminals electrically conductively joined to one or more semiconductor chips. In operation of the power semiconductor module such a terminal may be subjected to quite considerable heating of an electric component joined to the terminal, for example, a capacitor or some other power semiconductor module, possibly resulting in the electric component being damaged or even ruined, but in any case diminishing the useful life of the electric component.
One cause for such a terminal becoming overheated is a flow of heat materializing in the at least one power semiconductor chip joined to the terminal and flowing in the direction of the terminal. Another cause is the power loss generated by the terminal itself, resulting from its electrical resistance, as the product of the latter and the square of the current flowing through the terminal. Such power semiconductor modules are usually required to handle currents as high as several 100 A making a high power loss possible even when a very low electrical resistance is involved.
For these and other reasons there is a need for the present invention.